Sunset
by pearls1990
Summary: Phoenix and Trucy share a father/daughter moment just before sunset.


Trucy sighed as she took off her top hat and dipped her plastic spoon into the rainbow sherbet. It was her favorite of all the desert treats because she was always amazed that the rainbow could be captured in such a small cup. It also made her think of her Papa, Phoenix Wright. Ever since he took her in one year ago, they made it a tradition to walk down to the beach and buy ice cream and watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean at least once a week. She sucked on her spoon thoughtfully, as she watched the 'twilight surfers', (her own made up term) floating peacefully, waiting for the next wave. The ocean seemed particularly calm that evening, as if it was also waiting for the sun to descend into its great depths. Her little tanned legs swung carelessly and she watched Phoenix slowly make his way over to were she was sitting.

"Look at you, my little Trucy," He smiled as he ran the hand that wasn't holding a small Styrofoam cup, through his hair. "Sitting here, not a care in the world, eating your favorite ice cream, watching the world around you through nine year old eyes..."

"Ten, Papa!" Trucy mumbled with a mouth full of sherbet. "I am ten now. Don't forget, 'K?" She winked and gestured at him with her spoon.

"Yes, honey," He chuckled at her. "Ten. My little Trucy is ten years old." He sighed as he sat down next to the tenacious little girl. He wondered what the world looked like nowadays through a ten year old's eyes. He remembered what his own world looked like; the first year after Miles had moved away was hard for him. Phoenix shuddered as he pushed the ridiculous thoughts out of his head.

"Ice cream making you cold Papa?" Trucy looked up at him with her big doe eyes.

"A little, honey." He said as he put his arm around her. "Mostly just brain freeze."

Trucy regarded him through narrowed eyes for a moment, a look that Phoenix was very familiar with. "You should get a hat." She said matter-of-factly.

"Um, Trucy, this is L.A." Phoenix chortled despite himself. He also unconsciously ran his hand through his hair, again. "It's very warm right now and I don't think..."

"Papa," The brown-haired girl exclaimed between bites of sherbet. "Have you seen your hair lately? Eww!"

Phoenix opened his mouth to say something, but shut it immediately. He honestly hadn't made the conscientious decision to look in a mirror. Why should he? He had no one to impress, no where to go that required him to dress up. Hence the sweatshirt, that was unzipped at the moment, and his favorite pair of jeans, that were starting to wear at the seams and were tattered at the bottom.

"Oh, oh! I know what to get you for Papa's day, now!" Trucy broke into his self-reflection as he blinked at her. A large grin came across her face as she spoke.

"Okay, sweetheart, but I have everything I could ever want right here." He was lying, but he would never admit that to this beautiful nine...nope, ten year-old little girl who looked up to him for the most basic human needs, amongst other things; Trucy had taught him to love and accept the things in life that were out of his hands. Like Miles leaving his life permanently the night he went to play a hand of Poker with Trucy's father. He had never known heartbreak as much as that night, and the several weeks that followed. Until he saw the sunshine of Trucy's smile, the real sun had meant nothing to him. There was still a hole in his heart that Miles had left; but Trucy was like a band-aid, and made life bearable and almost worth living.

They sat in silence, finishing their ice cream, when the tide started to come in and only the soft sounds of the waves on the beach could be heard. Phoenix stole a quick look around, thinking that maybe they were the only ones there, but was surprised when he had seen a small crowd had gathered to watch tonight's sunset. His brow knit together in confusion, as he tried to think if there was a special occasion, or something going on at this particular beach to draw such an unusually diverse and as he watched, a growing crowd as well. A crowd that was unusually quiet and calm.

"What's wrong, Papa?" Trucy whispered. Even she had noticed the quiet that had suddenly descended.

"It's nothing sweetie," He said slowly. "Is there something going on this particular evening that we missed?"

"I read online that its supposed to be the biggest, and most beautiful sun set and that only the res-i-dents of Los Angeles will be able to witness it because of the combi- combination of the ocean and the dw-dwindling smoke from the fires that have been burning around the city lately."

Trucy nodded her head once in satisfaction as her papa looked at her incredulously. He made a mental note of her brilliant pronunciation of the larger words, and how she reminded him of Pearl.

"Did you memorize all of that?"

"Yup!" Trucy practically beamed.

Phoenix shook his head and gave his 'daughter' a loving squeeze. He leaned his head on the top of hers.

"If you listen closely, you can hear the sun setting into the ocean." He whispered a few moments later. Trucy cocked one ear toward the sun as she listened hard. Phoenix gazed at the brilliant oranges and yellows and reds that the sun produced as it passed through the haze of smoke and smog and down into the ocean and he thought of his mother and what she had told him about the sunset. Trucy's eyes became wide as saucers as she turned to Phoenix.

"Papa!" She said breathlessly. A low murmur seemed to wave through the crowd as the sun made its way down slowly. "Papa, I heard it!" Her smile suddenly made all his cares fly away and he kissed her on the top of her head.


End file.
